Serve up this cranberry orange buckle cake this holiday season. You have the festive holiday flavors in every single bite. A light and moist cake with bites of fresh cranberries, with a crumb topping that throws this cake over the top. Stunning presentation and outstanding flavors. Sweetly tart cake, that will leave your family begging for one more slice.
Have you ever had a buckle cake? This cranberry orange is the perfect cake for your holiday parties. First off it is stunning, I love the bright cranberries peaking through the cake. Then you have that orange zest that adds even more color and flavor to your cake. Slices up beautifully and perfect served with a cup of cider or coffee.
More Delicious Cake Recipes
What Is A Buckle Cake Dessert
A buckle cake is a cake that has a streusel topping and underneath you will find a really moist fruit cake. Generally made with fresh blueberries, you will find this unique twist is perfect for the holidays. The streusel topping gives the cake a buckle look, hence the name.
I wanted to create a buckle cake for the family that fit the season. I was at the store the other day and the produce had fresh cranberries, and I thought it would make a perfect buckle cake. Then add in that zest of an orange, and you get that sweet, tangy, and slightly tart all in one with a soft and moist cake.
Classic Cranberry Orange Buckle Cake Recipe
I love to make a classic dessert that reminds me of growing up. Buckle cakes were something we ate often. Most of the time it was blueberry but sometimes when in the season we would do cherry or even strawberry. So making a new adapted recipe was fun, and this recipe is pretty simple to make.
How to Make Cranberry Orange Buckle Cake From Scratch
First, you start out by making your cake batter. Have room temperature ingredients will help to give you that smooth and light cake batter. Then pour that mixture into your pan and top with this sweet and flavorful crumble. I mean, look at that beautiful and colorful batter!
Bake to golden perfection and serve with your favorite drink. Whether a warm cup of coffee, apple cider, or even cocoa! Once you make this cake you will want to make it over and over again.
Ingredients for The Cranberry Orange Buckle Cake
For the Cake –
3 Eggs, Room Temperature
2 Cups Sugar
¾ Cup Salted Butter, Room Temperature
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
1 Large Orange, Zested
2 Cups All Purpose Flour
1 12 oz. Bag of Cranberries
Crumb Topping –
1 Cup Flour
¾ Cup Sugar
¾ Cup Salted Butter, Softened
2 Tbsp Sugar (for topping)
Directions For Cranberry Orange Buckle Cake
- Preheat your oven to 350 Degrees.
- Grease a 9×13 Baking Dish
or line with Parchment Paper
- In a Stand Mixer
beat the Eggs and Sugar for approximately 7 minutes until they are almost thick and fluffy.
- Add in Softened butter, vanilla and the Zest of One Large Orange
- Beat another 2-3 minutes
- Slowly stir in Flour and Cranberries
- Press Mixture into the bottom of a greased 9×13 baking dish
- In a separate bowl combine Crumb Topping Ingredients (Flour, Sugar and Butter) and mix until crumbly with a fork or Pastry Blender
- Spread the Crumb Topping Evenly over the top of the Batter
- Sprinkle with remaining 2 Tbsp. of Sugar
- Bake 25-30 minutes or until you stick a toothpick in the center and comes out clean.

Cranberry Orange Buckle Cake
Ingredients
- 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 Degrees.
- Grease a 9x13 Baking Dish
or line with Parchment Paper
- In a Stand Mixer
beat the Eggs and Sugar for approximately 7 minutes until they are almost thick and fluffy.
- Add in Softened butter, vanilla and the Zest of One Large Orange
- Beat another 2-3 minutes
- Slowly stir in Flour and Cranberries
- Press Mixture into the bottom of a greased 9x13 baking dish
- In a separate bowl combine Crumb Topping Ingredients (Flour, Sugar and Butter) and mix until crumbly with a fork or Pastry Blender
- Spread the Crumb Topping Evenly over the top of the Batter
- Sprinkle with remaining 2 Tbsp. of Sugar
- Bake 25-30 minutes or until you stick a toothpick in the center and comes out clean.
There you have it, a cranberry orange buckle cake that will melt in your mouth. Perfect for parties, family gatherings, midnight snacks and even serve it up for breakfast with a side of fruit!
You can make this cake any time of year, and feel free to play around with the fruit! I love blueberry (swap orange with lemon!), blackberry, cherry, and even have used fresh strawberries. Such a versatile and delicious dessert!
Can you use frozen cranberries?
This cake is WONDERFUL thank you for sharing!! The only thing is the time is waaay off. Closer to an hour bake time. Started with the 25 minutes but had to keep checking. So good!!
How long do you keep the cake baking in the oven?
25 to 30 minutes is the cooking time for the cake.
HOW LONG TO YOU BAKE IT!!!
25-30 minutes. Enjoy!
Surprised there’s no notation of how long to bake!!!
Have the cake in the oven…its a guessing game.
Sorry about that Chris, I hope the cake turned out for you! It should take about 25-30 minutes. The recipe has been updated, thank you for letting us know the bake time was missing.
How long do you bake? No time listed in recipe
It’s updated now, sorry about that. It should take about 25-30 minutes.
How long do you bake the cake for?
Hi Kimberly, sorry we forgot to add the bake time, but it is updated now. Several people helped us out by asking. It is 25-30 minutes. I hope you enjoy the cake!
Hi! Making this right now – put in the oven and I don’t see how long to bake it… Thanks!
Hi Rebecca, I’m sorry we mistakenly left off the bake time. The recipe is updated now (bake for 25-30 minutes). I hope you enjoyed it!
what are the baking directions? had the thing completely prepared and then had no idea how long to cook it??
Hi Doma, the baking time is 25-30 minutes. Thank you for letting us know that the baking time was left off the original recipe. ENJOY!
Very good, but did’t do the crumble on top! Excellent
how long does it cook
Hi Pam, I’m sorry we mistakenly left off the bake time. The recipe is updated now (bake for 25-30 minutes). Enjoy!
How long do you bake it? Looks so yummy
Hi Lynne, I’m sorry we mistakenly left off the bake time. The recipe is updated now (bake for 25-30 minutes). Enjoy!